Gardening for Homesteaders

June 30, 2021 / Blog

When planning our garden this year, we took a moment to think about the things that we ate the most during the Pandemic, and the things that we craved.  Then we researched the varieties of vegetables that are best for storing, freezing, and canning. We want to be able to provide for ourselves, or at least supplement, throughout the winter.  It was also fun for us to choose veggies that would be showstoppers at our homestead market and to experiment with plants we haven’t grown before.

 

   

 

 

 

Here’s what we chose to plant and why:

Storage

This past year taught us the importance of providing for yourself.  Our garden will feed us and our community beyond the summer and well into winter.

Squash

Bonbons, a smaller and more flavorful version of the Buttercup squash.  They make for great storage!

Yellow Crookneck, long picking period and great for storage in the freezer.

Broccoli

Eastern Magic, stress tolerant, beautiful blue green color, for freezer storage.

Corn

Sugarbuns, sweet and longest harvest period of all early corn varieties, freezer storage.

Beets

Cylindra, named for their cylindrical shape, making it easier to cut uniform slices for cooking and canning, creating less waste.

Baby beets, adorable and delicious! Great for steaming or pickling whole.

Brussesl Sprouts

Gladius, market pleaser when presented on full stock, great for freezing.

Romanesco

Puntoverde, beautiful geometric shape, reliable variety.

Carrots

Bolero, best carrot for storage, sweet flavor, grows straight.

Cucumbers

Little leaf, great pickling cucumbers, high yield-even under stress, high resistance to mildew.

Cool Customer, exceptional crunch and flavor.

Radishes

Crunchy Kings, holds extra long in fields for longer harvest window, slice and pickle.

Pest Control

We are a Certified Organic farm and enjoy natural ways to keep our plants healthy and happy.

Marigolds, deter root knot nematodes, tomato hornworm, whiteflies and more!  Especially helpful when planted around roses, potatoes, tomatoes, and strawberries.

Nusturtiums, easy to grow with little care.  Best to grow them away from garden as they attract aphids and other pests, which deters them away from your garden plants.

 

Tea

Be on the lookout for Vermont Farmacy Tea coming soon!

Tulsi Kapoor (Holy Basil), sweet and spicy, adaptogen, boost immune system

Wild Bergamont (Monarda Seed), minty and spicy, main ingredient in Earle Grey tea.

Common Chamomile, produces more blossoms than Roman Chamomile, aids digestion, gentle sleep inducer.

Calendula, bright orange, slightly bitter taste, antioxidant.  We also use Calendula in our Lunar Infused CBD Herbal Salve.

 

Hemp

Honolulu Haze, a beautiful variety with a high percentage of CBD.  We believe in the power of the hemp plant, and utlilize it to create mindfully crafted products to help others to feel better.

 

For the Bees

We love bees, pollinators for our planet!  We be sure to leave organic pathways in our hemp crop to promote biodiversity.

Zinnias

Lavender

Oregano

Borage

Chives

Marigolds

Nasturtiums

Sunflowers

Flowering Thyme

Calendula

Bee Balm

 

Experiments

We are in planting zone 4b, which means we are limited in our planting options.  Still, we love to try new things and see how they grow.

Ammaranth & Quinoa, to harvest as grains

Melons: Cantaloupe, Diplomats, Honeydew, Diploid Watermelon

 

All our plants were grown from seed in our family greenhouse.  All seeds were purchased from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.